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Claude Auchinleck (1884 - 1981): Soldier

Claude Auchinleck was born in County Fermanagh but went to India as a small child, where his father was a Colonel in the Indian Army. In 1903 he joined the Indian Army as a Second Lieutenant. During the First World War he fought the Turkish Army at the Suez Canal and in Mesopotamia. In 1917 he was promoted to brigade-major. In 1936 he became major-general and Deputy Chief of the General Staff and had gained a reputation as a commander on the North-West Frontier. During the Second World War he came back to England to organise and command the new 4th Corps. Later he was appointed commander of the military forces in northern Norway and was eventually given command of the 5th Corps, before becoming general officer commanding-in-chief. In 1940 he was appointed commander-in-chief in India with the title of general, but in 1941 became a commander in the Middle East. He created the 8th Army which fought against Rommel. In 1943 he returned to India and later formed the 14th Army which defeated the Japanese in Burma. In 1946 he was promoted to field-marshal and in 1947 became Supreme Commander of all armed forces in India and Pakistan. He was known by the Indians as Lord of War. When India gained independence in 1947, Claude Auchinleck left. He became a colonel of the Inniskilling Fusiliers.